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Moore was born Dorothy Joanne Cook in Americus, Georgia, the elder of two daughters of Dorothy Martha (née English) and Henry Anderson Cook III.[1] In 1941, when she was a child, her parents and younger sister were involved in a fatal car accident. Her mother and sister died immediately, while her father died a year after of the injuries he sustained in the accident. Moore was then adopted by a wealthy local family and changed her name from Dorothy to Joanna.[2]

As a teen, she married and quickly divorced Willis Moore in 1951. After the divorce, she attended Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia. While attending college, she entered and won a beauty contest and was brought to Hollywood. Moore's acting career began when a producer for Universal Studios spotted her at a cocktail party.

By the late 1970s, Moore's career had begun to wane owing to personal problems. Her only two on-screen appearances after 1976 were in a supporting role in the 1980 television film Scout's Honor starring Gary Coleman and a small bit part in the 1986 Australian film Run Chrissie Run!.

On April 3, 1963, Moore married her third husband, actor Ryan O'Neal.[3] The couple had two children: Tatum O'Neal (b. 1963) and Griffin O'Neal (b. 1964).[4] The marriage was tempestuous and the couple separated in early 1966.[5] In February 1967, their divorce became final.[2]

In February 1975, she married roofing contractor Gary L. Reeves.[6] They divorced in 1977.

Around the time of her separation from O'Neal, Moore began to abuse alcohol and drugs, namely amphetamines, and she became addicted. She continued acting, but her depression worsened over her impending divorce.

In 1970, Moore checked into the Camarillo State Hospital for psychiatric treatment. The next year, she was arrested for drunk driving after she and O'Neal got into a fight while she and their children were visiting O'Neal's Malibu home. After her arrest, she lost custody of her children.[2]

By the late 1970s, she was being supported financially by her daughter, Tatum, who had become an Academy Award-winning actress at age 10 and one of the highest-paid child stars of the era. The children were still in Ryan O'Neal's custody, and despite treatment, Moore continued to abuse drugs and alcohol. As a result, she was arrested five times for DUI during the 1980s.[2]

In the early 1960s, Moore became deaf as a result of otosclerosis, which her doctor said resulted from a deposit of calcium in her middle ear. Moore said that she had to read lips to understand what people were saying. An operation restored her hearing in 1962.[7]

In 1996, Moore, a longtime smoker, was diagnosed with lung cancer. On November 22, 1997, she died from the disease at age 63. Her daughter, Tatum O'Neal, was by her side at the time of her death. Moore was initially interred at Hillside Memorial Park in Redlands, California, but her family later moved her remains to Oak Grove Cemetery in her home town of Americus, Georgia.[2]